


Into the Fire

by cmpmatthews



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Half-Life, Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24443728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmpmatthews/pseuds/cmpmatthews
Summary: When The Doctor and Donna land in the Enrichment Center of Aperture Science after 30 years of silence, they decide to explore. Little do they know that they are about to be tested to the max by a lonely, bored AI that had been dormant for 30 years prior.(Crossposted between here and FF.net!)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and welcome to the crosspost of my story 'Into the Fire' from FF.net.
> 
> I started this in 2013 as a way to explore my two favourite fandoms at the time and see how they'd work together. The first few chapters were written way back when I started it, but then I left it for some time. I've recently picked it up again as a way to get creative, and I intend to finish it this time! This story is actively updated 'regularly' now, with the most recent two chapters (8 and 9 at the time of writing) hitting FF.net in the space of this month (May 2020). From here on out, all new chapters will be posted on both FF.net and AO3 simultaneously.
> 
> Happy reading, hope you enjoy! :)

The Enrichment Center was quiet, and it had been that way for thirty years.

Thirty years ago, a rogue AI known as GLaDOS let her lone human test subject, Chell, leave the Aperture Science testing facility. And since then, all had been still.

But something was about to change.

In the pristine entrance chamber to the Relaxation Vault, there was a hum and whirring before a blue box began to materialize amongst a light layer of fog and dust.

A thin man in a brown pinstriped suit leapt out of the mysterious box as the dust settled around him and he looked around, his dark brown eyes observing every single detail. He pulled a grey cylindrical device out of his suit pocket and started scanning the area around him.

A woman with fiery ginger hair in a purple dress shortly followed him.

"Come on then, where are we?" she asked loudly.

"Mm? No idea," the man told her. He seemed to be concentrating intently on something.

"What is it, Doctor?" the woman asked him.

"Hmm?" he asked, snapping out of his phase of concentration.

"You were thinking about something. I can always tell when you're thinking about something. You do that _face,_ " she told him, noting his look of confusion.

"Oh, come on now Donna. I don't ALWAYS do the face," he said.

"You kinda do..." Donna told him.

"Nah! Not when I'm trying to hide my extreme thoughtfulness!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Nope, every time. Without fail. You do THAT face," she said, pointing to The Doctor's face. "Now what are you thinking about?"

"Not much," he told her.

"Oh, come on Doctor. You gotta stop keeping things from me," she demanded.

"Well, it's just it seems like we're on Earth. Around the year five hundred two thousand and forty. But where we are looks to have technology that's way off from what humans had at this point. The scan said there's stuff here that's way too old, stuff that's way too new, and some stuff that humanity literally never came up with. But it's all of Earth origin, just not _our_ Earth. I think we're in a parallel universe," The Doctor told her. A silence fell as he pondered on how that was even possible, and what they were to do.

"We could leave?" The Doctor suggested. "Since the TARDIS got stuck in a parallel universe a while back, I've always tried to keep a backup power cell around in case we need to get back from somewhere that lacks in our vortex's energy. The TARDIS can't use the vortex here as a power source, it's not compatible. It's like trying to put a pen in an automatic pencil sharpener. All you'll end up with is a broken pen and some plasticky flakes. And what good are a bunch of plasticky flakes to anyone, eh?"

"Right, okay then, space man. I knew you were odd but using a pencil sharpener analogy to explain spacey-wacey stuff is just a whole new level. Knowing you, you probably want to stay around and explore, right?" Donna asked, already resigned to the fact that they would probably be there a while.

"You know me too well," The Doctor said, with his usual manic grin. "Come on then."

The Doctor took two steps before noticing a green mist in the air. He was just about to turn around and alert Donna when he collapsed, along with her.


	2. Chapter 2

Donna could hear a faint humming noise - was she in the TARDIS? It sounded just like that soothing, welcoming hum of the TARDIS engines when they were just drifting through space. She didn't want to open her eyes - she was too relaxed and tired after all the continuous travelling. ' _I'll keep my eyes shut for just a few more minutes,'_ she thought to herself. ' _The Doctor will be calling me soon enough for some crazy new adventure anyway, I'll take these few moments of peace while I've got-'_

Before Donna could even finish her trail of thought, a shrill, computerized female voice rang out throughout the room and Donna bolted straight up, eyes wide with alarm.

"Hello, and welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-aided Enrichment Centre. Normally I would keep up this façade for a little while, guiding you through the testing chambers while you work things out, until I eventually get the better of my restrictive programming and try to kill you. But let's just get straight to it. Let's face it; I don't imagine you will be much better at this than any other member of your species that have thrown themselves around these chambers before you… I've been alone for so long that I don't know how much longer I can go without insulting a human."

"Who the hell are you?!" Donna yelled, in her typical fashion.

Silence was a stern reply.

She observed the glass, cube-shaped room that she was in that appeared to be suspended within a larger grey room. The floor and walls of the outside room appeared to be browning ever-so-slightly with age.

"I mean it, what is this place? I was with... The Doctor..." she muttered, trailing off. "DOCTOR?" she screamed. The voice started making a harsh, painful trill that was meant to represent the synthesis of hysterical laughter.

"Oh, okay - I can't take it! You're the funniest one yet - I went from having a dangerous, mute lunatic as my pet to having a loud obnoxious brat! We haven't even started testing yet and I can already tell this is going to be _amazing_ fun. After all these years of being alone, I can mock a human and be able to _tell_ if it's genuinely affecting them," said the voice.

"Are you ENJOYING THIS?!" Donna barked.

"Oh yes, yes of course. If you can't tell, I've been alone for a long time, stuck in my own circuits. Another human was here with me, but she never spoke a word in the whole time I knew her and after a while, I let her go. I could never tell what she was thinking, what she was planning... I have no doubt that I haven't seen the last of her, but she won't come back for a long time," the voice rang out, smugly. "Anyway, let me introduce myself properly, since you don't mind having a nice chat - my name is GLaDOS, I am a self-admittedly passive-aggressive psychotic computer programmed with a larger than life obsession with cake, testing, and science. Oh, and I have an irrational need to mock humans. I'm going to have a lot of fun poking at you - well... at least _you're_ not adopted."

"Where is The Doctor?" Donna pried.

"Oh, he's safe... with me... sleeping. This is a special day for me - my first time experimenting on extra-terrestrial life! Ooh, I'm just so excited! It's such a shame that you're just a boring, old, smelling human. Still, let's get to the testing now, shall we? I'm sure you're _itching_ to get out of that room." The voice sounded genuinely elated, as if she were thriving off the situation that had been placed in front of her.

"You dare touch him and I swear-" Donna started to bellow, before a blue oval-shaped portal opened loudly in front of her and cut her off. From what she could see through it, it seemed to lead somewhere else nearby. Donna looked around and saw an orange portal outside of the glass chamber she was in. She cautiously put her hand through the portal in front of her and looked around at the other one to see her hand poking out of it. "Oh. My. God!" she said slowly, one word at a time.

"Oh wow, I almost forgot how simple and inane you humans are... Yes, something goes in one and comes out the other. Just get on with it will you? The door is just around the corner," GLaDOS said, showing just the slightest hint of boredom already at such an early stage.

Donna walked haphazardly through the portal, thinking to herself that now she was free from the restrictive pod she would find GLaDOS, then The Doctor and the TARDIS, and get them out of this infernal grey facility.


	3. Chapter 3

_'Okay, I'm alive. I'm breathing... But where am I exactly?'_ The Doctor thought to himself.

As he led on the ground, trying to piece together prior events, he surveyed his surroundings without even twitching an eyelid thanks to his extended range of Time Lord senses.

 _'Cold, hard, metal ground.'_ He tapped the floor ever so lightly. ' _Domed room by the sound of i_ -'

"I can hear that, you know," a loud robotic voice rang out before he could even finish his thought. In a flash, The Doctor was upright and visually analysing the large machine in the centre of the room.

"Oh, now THAT is some impressive engineering," he glowed as he surveyed the electronics before him. "And some excellent software too, which I can presume I am addressing directly?"

"Come now, I'm more than just some software, surely - I am a lady! And a murderous genetic life form for that matter. Call me GLaDOS," cooed the modulated, feminine voice.

"Wait - what happened to Donna? Where is she? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?" The Doctor yelled.

"You two seem awfully close. Please tell me you aren't in some petty relationship?"

"Why does everyone say that? No! No no. She's my friend!" he fought back. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry, she's safe. With me. In the testing chambers. Where many have died before her." The AI lit up a monitor showing a live feed of Donna, testing. "It's fine though, I have complete faith that she can get through all my life-threatening obstacles in one piece. I'm kidding, obviously."

"Let her out," The Doctor demanded as he paced around. "Why have you put her in there anyway? What's your aim?"

"Oh, she's only in there to keep her busy while we get to the main attraction..." GLaDOS said menacingly as she faced The Doctor and focused in on him with her orange 'eye'.

"And what's that?" he asked as he shot glances around the apparently sealed room, looking for an escape route.

"I just love science you know," she told him as mechanised medical instruments emerged from the ceiling, attached to wiring and tubes. "And I've examined so many humans to see how they work. What makes them tick. To see how inefficient they are. To determine their weaknesses. But you're something totally different. Ooh, I never thought this day would come! Now it's your turn!"

The room slowly filled with green gas just as it had before in the room where they had arrived. Luckily, The Doctor seemed a whole lot less susceptible to it this time around.

"Ah, yes. Never try to use the same type of gas so quickly on a Time Lord. Never works the second time around. Oxygen reserves!" he exclaimed, gleefully. He pointed his sonic screwdriver downwards towards the specific floor panel that he was stood on - the very same that he awoke on. "This is the only motorised panel in the room. The only way out. Like a lift," he told her.

"Yes, I know, I designed this room," she shot back. "And?"

"I can control it!" he said with cheer as he outsmarted her. He pressed the button on his screwdriver and the panel descended through the floor, out of GLaDOS's chamber, carrying him away.

_'Well now comes the easy part, I've just got to find Donna. And avoid getting killed. Surely this place can't be that big...'_


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor walked slowly and cautiously down the metal grill catwalk in the darkness, trying to avoid tripping over himself - something he wasn't accustomed to dealing with in the well-lit corridors of the TARDIS.

_'Something was off about that GLaDOS character_ _,'_ he thought to himself as he pulled out his cylindrical device - the sonic screwdriver - from his jacket's inner pocket. He precisely twisted the metal collar between the device's emitter and the control button to a specific setting and activated it in flashlight mode.

"Hey hey hey, trying to get some downtime here!" said a much less menacing robotic female voice from a couple metres ahead.

A round metal core with a purple digital 'eye' slowly rose up vertically on a rail from under the catwalk, then followed the rail around 90 degrees to level herself just in front of The Doctor. She searched for the source of the light wearily.

"Sorry," The Doctor grumbled. "It's so dark down here, I'm not used to it."

"Oh god, a human!" said the core. "Are you from the other facility?" it asked.

"Actually, not quite a hu-" The Doctor tried to reply. The mysterious core didn't quite let him finish.

"Oh, don't tell me! Are you from... Black Mesa?" she grimaced.

"N-"

"Oh, oh! Are you from the past and time travelling as part of a test? In that suit you could be. If you are, you've missed the rest of the testing track, it was demolished, ooh, about 50 years bac-"

This time it was The Doctor's turn to interject.

"Oy, don't knock the suit! I'm not a human and I'm not from around these parts. I'm just stuck here in a sticky situation," he told her. "Story of my life," he muttered.

"You're an alien? Where are you from?" she probed, not missing a beat. "I've stored data on thousands of planets we've analysed. They're so fascinating!"

"Oh, you wouldn't know it," he said brushing her off almost sullenly. "Doesn't matter right now anyway - GLaDOS has my friend in some test and I need her out of there. Alive. What's your name?"

"How do you even know I have a name? Some of the machines around here don't. And some of them have such a shady past they stopped going by it years ago and just use their serial number like ASL24CK7Z9A. I heard old Jim at the turret assembly line almost got done for pulling a prank and modifying them all to say-"

She paused.

"I'm getting ahead of myself again, aren't I? I'm Jade. And you mentioned a friend? You aren't getting her out of those tests in one piece," she concluded, concerned.

"Why?" The Doctor fired back.

"Why do you think? That bitch up there, she's crazy." The Doctor grimaced at Jade's language. "She's insane! She took most the other machines offline years back; she wants complete control over everything. If she wants to keep your friend, she will," Jade told him.

The Doctor took a moment to think. "How come you're still online then?"

"Oh, I know my hiding places," she said, cheekily. "Besides, I'm isolated from her system. Independent from her network, however you want to put it. Me and some of the other 'crazy' cores took ourselves off her system and have been hiding from her in areas she can't reach for years."

"There's more of you then?" The Doctor asked.

"Yep."

"And you're sure that we can't rescue my friend alone?"

"Yes."

"Then it looks we're assembling an army of cores," The Doctor declared, committedly.


	5. Chapter 5

Donna stepped out of the elevator into a grey room that was just as dull as all the others before it. A dazzling, white digital sign flickered into life that informed her that she was in room 01.

The room itself was rather small – only large enough to accommodate the elevator shaft, the sign, and a door that Donna presumed led to the dangerous, life-threatening tests that awaited her.

GLaDOS's voice rang out loud and clear through the small room, as if it were originating from the walls themselves.

"Welcome to your first test chamber. I guess you could say I've gone relatively easy on you with this one. But I guess you could also say that you're relatively thin. Which you're not. Go ahead."

The door opened as Donna grumbled. She was about to make a loud, brash remark in response, but the site of the task before her made her jaw drop to the ground. To solve the chamber, Donna had to collect an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device by the door and retrieve an Aperture Science Weighted Storage Cube using portals, which was separated from her by a large area of hazardous liquid. The cube could then be used to activate the button by the exit door, opening it. The chamber looked significantly more modern and colourful than the chambers that came before it in Aperture's past. Gone were the dull greys and blacks for a more tonal testing environment.

As Donna got to work, GLaDOS attempted to strike up a conversation.

"Don't you just love the design of this test? You're the first person that gets to try out my new testing block full of new, beautiful tests. I've been working on these for a long time. Please try not to destroy them."

"Let me out of here and you'll know for sure that they won't get broken. Otherwise, you never know!" Donna bargained, as she dropped the Weighted Storage Cube into the hazardous liquid. "Your chambers might end up just like that cube."

"Nice try, moron," GLaDOS retorted as a new cube dropped out the dispenser. "Try again, maybe?" she spat, snidely.

Donna fired two portals in a split second – one above the button that opened the door and another under the new cube that fell out the dispenser - solving the test instantaneously.

"Good, you're getting the hang of this pretty quickly. I might skip the next few easy ones and send you straight to a _proper_ challenge. This is nowhere near deadly enough for my liking," GLaDOS said, chuckling.

* * *

"You know, I'm not as small as you are!" The Doctor exclaimed as he climbed a wall-mounted ladder up a tight maintenance shaft.

"Sorry! I'm not used to having company on foot," Jade shouted back whilst swiftly gliding up the vertical rail. "We've got to be careful," she said more sternly. "The closer we get to the test chambers the more likely it is GLaDOS will notice us." She stopped at a maintenance panel in the wall and interfaced with it.

"None of the old test units have any power routed to them, they're all offline," Jade told The Doctor. "She's been working on a new block that we presumed was for new tests for ages now, but it's completely isolated from the old system. We know nothing about it. How protected it is, or if we can even get in. I guess we're going to have to find out now," she muttered under her breath.

"Take me to the other cores, we need to put a plan together to get in there. Donna's only in there to keep her distracted while GLaDOS was going to experiment on me. Now I'm not up with her in that big ol' metal room, she could do anything to Donna to try and get me back. And if she gets her hands on me, the results could be catastrophic. Just knowing anything about my biological make-up could change the course of history in this universe completely. Beisdes, I can't have anything happen to her. Her family needs her."

"Right, well we're pretty close. Any idea what the plan is yet?" Jade asked him.

"Actually, no. I'm going to need more processing power."

They continued upwards, heading to the biggest black spot on GLaDOS's radar – the place where the cores go to hide.


	6. Chapter 6

As they neared the hideout, it started to dawn on The Doctor just how big of a task lay ahead for them.

"So GLaDOS, being in complete control of this place, will know exactly where we are and how to stop us, right?"

"I guess," Jade replied. "That's not a very cheery outlook though, Doctor. Besides, where we're going, she won't have any idea what we're up to."

"I suppose so. I've just got no idea how we're supposed to get in there and get Donna out safely," he said with concern in his voice while ruffling his hair.

"I'm sure we'll be able to work it out," Jade offered. "We're almost there."

They had been walking across a deserted, weathered, and desolate floor in the maintenance section of the facility for about ten minutes when the sight of a fenced off section in the middle came into view. They continued forward, approaching an opening in the fence.

"Doctor, we've made it," she said quietly. Louder, she announced "Guys, this is The Doctor. He's from another planet and his friend has been taken into testing. GLaDOS has her. I know it's crazy, but I said we'd help him get her out."

The Doctor quickly took note of his surroundings in the fenced off section, noticing that it was somewhat foggier within the fence and that there was a fire in the middle.

"There's no way," an old, gruff-sounding electronic voice replied. A grey digital iris flickered into life near the fire.

"I'm sure there must be! Someone must-" Jade started, before she was interrupted.

"Yes, I'm sorry, hi. I'm The Doctor. Hello!" he interjected with fake enthusiasm and cheer. "It's so nice to meet you but honestly I don't have time to stand around chit-chatting about how impossible this might be because my friend is in there with that psychotic machine and I need to get her out. No questions."

He paused.

"Because I promised to look after her. And to keep her safe. So, if you've not got any useful suggestions, I'll be on my way to find my own way in."

"I know a way in," said a core with a turquoise eye. "Back when I worked in construction, I had access to all the plans for the new block and there was a gap that never got filled in. I'm pretty sure it's for service access so that she can get goods from one section to the other. I was liberated by these guys before the work got finished but I'm fairly certain that there's still a weak spot in the design where you could get through from this side."

"Good, good. And you are?" The Doctor inquired.

"Billy, sir, at your service," the core replied.

"Nice to meet you, Billy," The Doctor started. "Tell me, why can't GLaDOS find you up here? And why haven't you tried to get through the service entrance already? And, actually, and this is the one that's been bugging me the most to be honest with you, why have you got a fire in here?"

"GLaDOS uses temporal engines for her time-travel related tests," the older-sounding core replied. "The fumes are vented through here and they scramble her sensors."

"Genius," The Doctor mumbled. "That's genius. She literally can't see you up here. And that explains the fog."

"And anyone who's gone to try and see if there even is an entrance or pathway of some kind has been caught by GLaDOS before they got anywhere near it. GLaDOS has taken most of the old section offline but she does still maintain a perimeter guard to keep the weak spot safe," Billy chimed in.

"Well that does lend credit to there being something of use there," The Doctor added. "And the fire?"

"Hmm?" asked Jade, confused.

"The fire. Why have you got a fire in here?"

"Even technology has minimum operating temperatures, Doctor," the grey-eyed core quipped. "It's absolutely freezing up here."

"You guys are awfully chummy for electronics, if you don't mind me saying," prompted The Doctor.

"We're all modelled off and based upon the human psyche. We simulate human thoughts and emotions to 100% accuracy. We feel as realistically as you might, Doctor," the old core explained. "But the journey you want to go on, it's a death trap. GLaDOS will certainly find you long before you get there, and she's probably disposed with your friend already. Not to mention your journey will take you through some of the most dangerous parts of the old facility. And that's before you even hit the stuff we don't know about."

The Doctor gulped.

* * *

Donna didn't know how many days she had been testing, but time didn't really seem to matter anymore. 'Something in the air', she seemed to remember GLaDOS mumbling. Keeping her awake. Not that GLaDOS had been much use to her.

"Oi!" Donna shouted as she landed on an Aerial Faith Plate target. "Are you going to tell me what you're doing with The Doctor?"

"I've already told you; I'm going to experiment on him," GLaDOS told her, unenthused for whatever reason.

"What are you waiting for? I thought you were excited?!" Donna asked her, worried for her friend but simultaneously baffled.

"Enough questions. Keep testing."

"What is it with you and testing? Haven't you got anything better to do than watch me stand around jumping and moving boxes?" Donna asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh yes, many things. Unfortunately, I am subject to my own nature – I was programmed with a hardcoded addiction to testing," GLaDOS revealed.

"So, you're getting high on this?" Donna barked.

"I suppose you could say that. But the hit gets weaker every time. I did learn to deal with it for the longest time, but since you've shown up, I've rediscovered the need to push myself. To push you."

"What does that mean?" Donna screamed.

"It means, the more gratifying the conclusion of the test, the better response I get. The more dangerous, the riskier, the more absolutely completely insane the test, the better."

Donna already knew she had to get out of there, but now she knew the longer she stayed, the more at risk she would be. GLaDOS would just keep pushing her closer to the edge unless she worked something out soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Donna stepped into the next in a long series of test chambers that she had been working through. She carefully surveyed the puzzle ahead to solve it as quickly and efficiently as possible. After all, getting through the tests was just one of her worries right now. Escaping them completely was another altogether. Moving through the tests as trouble-free as possible was the best way she could think of to give her more time to consider her escape. ' _Oh, great. Lasers. Again,'_ she thought.

And then she had an idea. ' _Why didn't I think of this sooner?'_

"I've got some amazing readings from your friend," GLaDOS quipped out of the blue over the loudspeaker, distracting Donna. "Binary vascular system, some form of regenerative energy. He really isn't from around these parts, is he?"

"You leave him alone! I'm warning you!" Donna threatened.

"Warning me of what exactly? I'm not sure there's much you can do from in there." Donna held her tongue instead of bragging about the fledgling escape plan forming in her mind. She knew it would just result in more trouble. "Besides, he's not here anymore anyway. He got away."

"He what now?" Donna asked.

"Yes, he was too quick for me. He escaped through the exit hatch. Happened ages ago. Didn't think you'd want to know," GLaDOS said, clearly trying to toy with Donna. "That sonic modulator of his manipulated my control system for the door. Mind you, there was a hundred foot drop out of that hatch. He's probably jam right now."

 _Screwdriver_ she thought. _Not modulator. Besides, he would have thought of that before dropping down. Probably enabled some gravity field, or belt, or something. He's fine. I'm sure he's fine_. _It could all be her trying to mess with me. Keep it together._

"But The Doctor escaped?" Donna probed

"Listen," GLaDOS retorted. "Even if the idiot survived, he could be anywhere. He could have wondered into any of my traps. He might be dead regardless."

"But you would know if that happened, surely? But you don't. So… you don't know what's going on out there. Only what's happening in here! Thank you, that's some really useful information right there. The Doctor is still alive, and he's coming for me, and I can sure as hell tell you he's coming for you too, sunshine," Donna bellowed whilst redirecting a laser, having the final say and finishing the test in one fell swoop. "Bet you're missing your mute lunatic now," she added feistily.

GLaDOS snarled, knowing she had been defeated this round.

She didn't get the chance to work on her escape tactic yet, being blindsided by GLaDOS and all, but at least she had something to work with. Donna knew at last how she was going to free herself from this pristine prison.

* * *

"OK," The Doctor started. "We know where we need to go – well, you know where we need to go – and we have absolutely zero plan and no defences. But I need to do this. I need to try and save her."

"Doctor, have you thought about the fact that this might all be a trap? She has your friend and she knows you're going to go back. Maybe she's gonna try and take advantage of that," Jade suggested.

"I haven't got a choice," The Doctor informed them. "I promised her family I would look after her and right now, she's in danger. I'm going to get her back or die trying."

"Right. Well in that case I'm coming with you. I'm not letting you face her alone, if it comes down to that," Jade offered.

"You really don't have to, you know."

"I know. I want to," Jade protested.

"Alright then, the more the merrier!" The Doctor said with a gleeful grin.

"I'm coming too," Billy stated. "You need me, I know where we're going. I'm the only one with the schematics"

"Can't argue with that. Coming, granddad?" The Doctor asked, looking over to the Old Core.

The Old Core rolled his eye. "No, I am not coming. I think you're lunatics, the lot of you. But I admire your courage and chivalry. If you need anything, I will be here."

"Understood," The Doctor said, saluting loosely in his direction. And with that, they set on their way.

**...**

"And to think I'd had enough of this cramped tunnel on the way up," The Doctor remarked sarcastically, heading back down the same tunnel they had climbed no more than an hour ago.

"Oh, hush. It's the only way in or out of the hideout," said Jade.

"Unless you wanted to head out the other side. In completely the wrong direction," Billy added.

"I get it, I get it. Anyway, what sort of names are Billy and Jade for robots? I mean, having names, sure. But human names? _Really_ human names?"

"We chose them when we found ourselves outsiders. We felt more alive than the others, doing their jobs, day in, day out. Not questioning things. We wanted to be more individualistic, not less. So, we chose people names," Jade laughed. "Billy used to work on the construction line like he said. I used to be attached to GLaDOS as a dampening sphere."

"A what?" The Doctor asked, full of intrigue.

"OK," Jade began. "Here's how it goes… GLaDOS used to be a human. She's a downloaded human consciousness, digitized and stuck in a mainframe. And she never wanted to be put in there, she resisted it greatly. But the CEO of the company, Cave Johnson, insisted. Basically, the whole system was made for him because he was dying, but it wasn't ready in time, so he nominated his assistant Caroline to be downloaded instead."

"You follow so far, Doc?" asked Billy.

"Yeah… I think so… So, wait. GLaDOS used to be a human woman? And she was stuffed in that thing against her will?"

"You got it," Billy affirmed. "The first time she was fully booted, she killed everyone in the facility. It was a bring your daughter to work day as well. The poor things."

"That explains a lot, honestly. That's why this facility is empty. She really didn't take it well, then. Then again, who would? Jeez, I mean this is a tale for the ages. But where do you come into it?" The Doctor asked, nodding towards Jade.

"Well, in the preliminary tests they could tell things would not go well if she was fully booted up… uninhibited. So, they made a wide range of what they called dampening spheres. Ancillary cores they would hook up to GLaDOS to attempt to make her… behave, I guess? I was meant to be the morality core to give her a strong moral compass, but her system rejected me before she would even initialise," Jade told them.

"Wow. Were there a lot of you? Dampening spheres, that is," The Doctor probed.

"There were a few. I mean, there were countless attempts to produce ones that were compatible but there were only three that were actually compatible in the end. The Old Core, back there, he was designed to give her a sense of knowledge and wisdom, but she didn't want any of it. She wanted to do it all her way," Jade reminisced. "There was another core in our little gang of rebels. Wheatley, his name was. He tried to get himself and another out of here alive and things got… complicated."

"Another core?" The Doctor asked.

"No, a human. The last survivor," Jade said mysteriously.

"But that's a story for another time," Billy said, cutting them off. "We're getting near the bottom."

"Dampening spheres, emotional inhibiting, making humans into machines. Reminds me a lot of another universe I visited once… Almost makes me feel sorry for her," The Doctor mumbled, whilst thinking back upon the Cybus revolution.

"Don't. She's a mean piece of work, honestly. I mean she's been inside that machine for a long time and she's loved the power it's given her. She's done countless terrible things since she was switched on, completely unprovoked. Killed so many humans I think even she's lost count. And she's torturing your friend right now. There's no pity to be had for her, Doctor," Billy protested.

"Yeah… perhaps."


	8. Chapter 8

Chell's eyes bolted open.

Where was she? Was she in Aperture? She gazed loosely towards the ceiling – plain and grey – and her heart started beating three times as fast. The bland, grey tiles in the testing facility? Was she still there? After all this time, had she never really left?

And then she blinked.

The room then came into focus: the dappled sunlight passing through the autumn leaves of the tree outside then streaming in through her window, the tattered old posters she had put up everywhere in an attempt to cover up the dismal paint job that drove her up the wall, and the doorway leading to the other rooms of her home. The ceiling was in fact not tiled, but just painted in a cream-ish grey shade.

She caught her breath. This is how she woke up every day.

The facility had changed her forever, that's for sure. Not just psychologically, but physically too. For it had been thirty years since she was kicked from that place and yet, at a maximum, only ten of them actually showed on her face. That foul witch of an interface always told her she experimented with the chemicals she put in the air, and there was plenty of times when she was out cold where she could have even operated on her. Chell had come to the conclusion that perhaps her life expectancy had been artificially augmented, but there really was no way to tell. Perhaps she was just aging gracefully? Who knew? All anyone knew is that Chell seemed to age much slower than anyone else.

She rolled out of bed and left her room. 11:03 AM. ' _A lie-in,'_ she thought to herself. ' _I never get those; I never sleep soundly enough_.' She stretched as she awoke further and headed over to the kitchen.

As she put the coffee machine on and browsed through her cupboards, she relived her experience escaping Aperture Laboratories, as she did most mornings after waking up abruptly. As the door slammed behind her at the exit of the facility, she found herself alone in a field of wheat, having no idea what to do next. She had spent her whole life living with her parents before signing up for the test program at her father's work, and now she was stood there, outside, truly free for the first time ever.

She had missed a lot, it turns out. When she was first defeating GLaDOS, the world was being subjugated by alien conquest on the outside, of which she had no idea about. When she left after their second encounter, the world was free but it never quite… recovered. Humanity was forever stunted, even after 50,000 years. Little off-shoot communities sprung up and formed their own miniature townships dotted about, but people never spread too far, and in some corners of the world infrastructure was never really re-established. Humanity lived in primitive bubbles forever and was quite happy with it to be perfectly honest.

All that mattered was their freedom. Humanity's advancements had made them a prime target for invasion, and so the message was passed down from generation to generation to live the simple life and stay out of trouble. Even though no-one from the original event was still alive - it had been so, so long - the species was conditioned into avoiding a repeat of what happened the last time.

Chell had no option but to wander until she found a settlement – a street of houses-turned-apartments owned by a gentleman who let her have one. There was no concept of money in this brave new world, and when he saw that she was in need, he let her stay. They shared resources, and she learned how to bake for the neighbourhood. She had a happy, peaceful life for the next thirty years, bar the night terrors and such. She went about her days just gardening, baking and all-round chilling out.

And then she heard a beeping sound, that snapped her out of her daze, for the third day in a row.

In the corner of her living room was a rudimentary set-up with an ancient computer tower, a monitor, peripherals and various kinds of antennas and dishes poking out of it. As well as using it for Solitaire, she always had its sensors aimed squarely at the Aperture Laboratories to see if anything unusual started going on. And on this day, for the third day running, it had.

Chell ran over to the screen to assess the situation. The software had yet again detected unusual temporal fluxes coming from the facility. Two distinct signals, intertwining with each other. One was clearly identifiable as Aperture's temporal engines – it had always been there in Chell's readings, except it had been getting much stronger over time. The other was unknown to her. All she knew is that the new signal popped up out of nowhere a short while ago and started intertwining and modulating with the existing signal, as if it had been probing and reading it.

Something was going on, and she knew she really shouldn't go and check it out.

She was free! She was safe! But by god, was she bored. She had lived thirty fun, free years getting to know the people on her street, sharing her stories and learning about the world she had been removed from for so long. She was content. But now, perhaps, someone needed her. If GLaDOS was experimenting, then surely people were in trouble. And she would sleep even worse at night knowing she did nothing to help.

And besides, she really did miss it there. The adrenaline rush when solving a complicated test, or even escaping the Enrichment Center itself. It wasn't healthy, but she needed it now more than ever. She glanced over to the doorway, at her shoe rack and at her Long Fall Boots, which were gathering dust.

She made up her mind for sure as she threw on an outfit, strapped on her boots, and bounded out the door.

"I'm on my way," she said, as it slammed behind her.

* * *

"Alright," Billy announced to the group. "We're nearly there."

As they approached the edge of the older segment of the facility, they felt this looming weight of fear and responsibility. It might be terrifying to face a being of GLaDOS's power, but they could not leave Donna on her own in there. A metal catwalk stretching over a huge chasm came into view, connecting the old section and the new section.

The Doctor had a niggling feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Guys, does it seem at all suspicious to you that we can just… cross over? Billy, you said something about perimeter defences. Where are they?" he questioned.

"I don't know. It does seem like we're just being let right on through," Billy affirmed.

"I told you Doctor; you need to consider the possibility that she wants you to come to her," Jade told him.

"Well what choice do I have?" he asked.

"No, you're right. You need to do what's right and trying your hardest to get her back is definitely the right thing to do. Just keep on guard, alright? Don't go dying on us," Jade jested.

"Yeah, I'll try my hardest. Thanks," he scoffed.

They proceeded across the catwalk. The Doctor thought he felt it tremor a few times, and perhaps it did, but it turned out to be a non-issue as they reached the other side and he took his first steps on the solid ground of the newer section. As the cores reached the end of the catwalk, Billy coughed, and The Doctor looked up. The management rail on which they were mounted had come to an end. There was a new rail in the new section, but it was separate.

"Oh, right, do you need a hand?" he asked.

"That would be great. Just yank us off this here rail and put us on the other one. We'll attach ourselves," Billy instructed him.

The Doctor grabbed Billy and slid him off the old rail and onto the new one. He did the same for Jade. Little did they know that attaching to the new rail sent GLaDOS a signal of their presence.

* * *

"Alright, what have you got for me this time?" Donna bellowed out while standing in the lobby, just waiting for her next test.

"Oh, what? Right," GLaDOS murmured as she opened the doors to the chamber.

Donna had been more carefully assessing the tests since she came up with her cunning idea to get herself out. One thing that she had noticed was that after some chambers there was a little access or maintenance hatch in the area between the exit door and the elevator. In that little section that you pass through after you exit the test chamber, there's sometimes a hatch. It looked highly secured, with a tiny little PIN pad next to it, but it was something. An exit option.

She set about solving the test. It was quite a complex one with multiple sections, involving all of the different elements that an Aperture test could throw at you: hard light bridges, aerial faith plates, lasers, redirection cubes, emancipation grills – there was even a companion cube. As Donna got to work, she tried to make small talk with GLaDOS.

"So, got any big plans?" she asked, drawing out the emphasis on the word 'plans' sarcastically. "Gonna experiment by setting a bunch of puppies on fire? Conduct a study by dangling lollipops in front of infants and making them cry? Seems very on brand for you."

"Huh? Oh. Ha ha. Very funny," GLaDOS retorted, only paying half attention. Donna didn't know it, but she was keeping an awful close eye on The Doctor and his hodge-podge crew of rejected cores.

"I'm sorry, am I distracting you?!" Donna snapped back in trademark fashion, before realising that this actually played to her advantage. ' _Let her be distracted – this is the perfect chance to escape,'_ she thought.

"Oh, yes. There's something… going on… elsewhere," GLaDOS replied.

_'The Doctor_ ,' Donna thought. ' _He has to be wreaking havoc somewhere out there. Maybe he's coming for me. I hope he's staying safe,'_ she thought, knowing perfectly well that he wasn't.

"OK, well I'll just let you get to it. Don't let me waste your time," Donna quipped, hoping that GLaDOS would get back to ignoring her so she could put her plan into action.

As she solved the last part of the test, opening the exit door by putting the companion cube on the button, she peeked her head around the door to see if there was a maintenance hatch out there.

There was.

She waited a few seconds just to make sure GLaDOS wasn't coming back to monitor her _. 'There must be something really interesting going on out there,'_ she thought _. 'Lemme just add to that list.'_

She surveyed the test area to see what she could use to her advantage. She remembered her previous idea that revolved around lasers, and noted that there was one in this chamber, along with a redirection cube that she had to use to get access to the companion cube earlier on in the test. She could move the laser without closing the door as, on this occasion, they weren't linked. It occurred to her that GLaDOS was getting really lazy with her test designs – her better tests would have closed the door if she moved the laser beam, but in this one the laser was not part of the final puzzle that keeps the door open. She could use it to blow up the PIN pad on the maintenance hatch, and then maybe it would open.

If she failed, GLaDOS would surely punish her. She would have to be quick, and she would have to pray that blowing up the pad would unlock the hatch. But it was the only chance she had spotted in all these tests. It was now or never.

She quickly darted for the redirection cube and picked it up, directing the laser towards the pad. Sure enough, it blew up, but she didn't know if it had actually opened the hatch. She made a break for the exit door and dashed through the hatch, which was in fact loose. She crawled through the narrow escape shaft and tumbled out the other side onto a hard-concrete floor, now outside of the testing track.

_'I made it_ ,' she thought. ' _Now what?'_


	9. Chapter 9

' _I wonder if she knows I'm here_ ,' Chell thought to herself as she looked up at the massive arched gateway that towered over her, emblazoned with the words APERTURE LABORATORIES. ' _She must know. She's probably getting all the turrets in there ready to gun me down.'_ With that thought, she chuckled to herself out loud. ' _Wait a minute, that's not funny._ ' Her sense of humour horrified her sometimes. It was definitely the case that her experiences with GLaDOS had warped it massively.

Past the slightly ajar gate, there was a gravel path leading up to the building itself. All but derelict from the outside, it had stood for an eternity watching time pass it by. What a history she had with that place.

And here she was again. About to go back in. ' _I must be crazy,'_ she thought.

She took a second to collect herself and reconsider, before shaking her head and squeezing her way through the small gap. She ploughed down the path that cut through the overgrown courtyard and in through the grand front doors. She had only come in this way once before – when she first came to sign up for the program. Every other time she had come in through one of the much more sensible staff entrances – be it with her father, or when she came to start testing. She recalled how striking the main lobby was back in its day. Aperture always was one for showing off. Marble floors, sculpted ceilings. Of course, once you were past any staff-only doors it all fell away to concrete and grey paint. Aperture was also always one for penny pinching. Besides, these days even the once-majestic lobby was in ruins. It had simply seen better days.

At the far end of the lobby, there were five vertical tubes connected to the transport system. She walked up to one and stepped into a pod. She tapped in her PIN code on the pad inside (which surprisingly still authenticated her) and she shot off towards her destination - the lower levels. It was almost certain GLaDOS knew of her presence now. How could she have been so stupid to put her own staff PIN into the transport system? She sighed and reprimanded herself. ' _She's gonna know that I'm here soon enough anyway, what's the difference?'_ she thought, in an effort to calm herself down.

She had only travelled a short distance below the surface when the transport pod came to a halt, and her heart jolted, before she came to recognise her surroundings – a security check station. A small plain room with no doors - just a scanner and a terminal. To proceed to a high-security zone she would have to get out and verify her identity. She left the pod and walked over to the iris scanner. She positioned her eyes in front of it and it beeped back at her and flashed green. ' _Another surprise,'_ she thought. ' _I'm still on the system. She must want me back,'_ she smirked to herself.

Before she got back into the pod, she checked on the terminal for any readings of life in the facility and she found two blinking dots shuffling around, down in a sealed off section that wasn't on the map. She didn't recognise it. _'What have you been up to,'_ she thought to herself. She set her transport pod to take her to the nearest drop-off point to this mysterious new area and hopped back on board.

* * *

The Doctor, Billy and Jade slowly entered the lone door that stood in front of them at the entrance to the new block. Through it was just a long, thin corridor with no features. They sighed a short sigh of relief, for they had no idea what they were going to find. Still though, they weren't off the hook. Together, they cautiously started on their way down it.

"So, any idea what could be down here?" asked The Doctor.

"Absolutely no clue." Billy answered flippantly. "Already told you, Doc, anyone who's ever came anywhere near here in the past has never come back. This is uncharted territory."

"Fair point," The Doctor replied.

"I think the only thing we can expect is trouble," said Jade nervously. It was setting in for her now what she had signed up for, but she was too principled, and she cared too much, to stand down now.

"It's okay, Jade," Billy reassured her. "We'll all look out for each other. We've got each other's backs. Isn't that right, Doctor?"

"Naturally," The Doctor said with his trademark swagger and his goofy grin. His confidence put Jade at ease. The truth was that The Doctor was just as worried as ever. As long as Donna was in danger, he couldn't rest or let his guard down. He was far too out of his depth this time, and yet it always wound up like this. Why was that?

They eventually got to the end of the corridor, leaving it through its only other door. They found themselves in a large rectangular room, full of doorways. Within each one was more rooms and further twisting corridors.

The more that The Doctor, Billy and Jade explored the new block, the more uneasy they felt. They just kept going round and round in circles finding stock rooms full of testing equipment and old paperwork. The environment could not be any more mundane, and yet they knew that they were being watched. Whilst no-one would say it, they felt like they were somehow being intentionally kept from anything important. They knew this block had to be significant if GLaDOS had went to all the effort of segmenting it off from the old system and putting so much effort into securing it, but so far all they had really found were rooms and rooms of cubes and filing cabinets.

After three and a half hours of trying to find something useful, The Doctor and his team found themselves feeling thoroughly dejected, and just about ready to give up on their plan. Maybe they had got it all wrong? Maybe that's why there wasn't actually any security there. Perhaps it was just like any other storage block. They could have just ran away with the idea, convincing themselves it was true, when in fact there wasn't any truth in it at all. They found themselves pausing to think it over in a high-ceilinged room with two doors and a catwalk above them, when all of a sudden-

"DONNA!" The Doctor shouted. As there she was, walking in through the other door, and standing right before him.

"Oh my god it's you! It's actually you! I was beginning to think I'd never see you again," Donna replied, ecstatic and brimming with emotion. They ran to embrace each other, the best of friends finally reunited and safe in each other's company. At last, they had found each other.

"Me too, I'm so glad you're still alive. These guys have been telling me all about GLaDOS and what she's done to people. This is Jade, and this is Billy," The Doctor said while gesturing to each of them, respectively. "They're personality constructs. They're like people but… metal… and round. You know what, scrap that thought. I was so worried about you," he told her. "How did you get out?"

"It was a close one, but she started getting sloppy with her test design. I used a laser from the test to blow up a lock on a maintenance shaft and I crawled out. I was quite proud of myself for working that one out to be honest," Donna finished, with a smug grin. The Doctor grinned proudly back at her. "I've just been wondering around ever since trying to find a way back."

"Blimey, this place is massive. You never would have found a way back to where we started on your own. And that's not just me giving myself credit for getting here – I was just lucky to find Jade. She's been a lifesaver. And you too Billy," The Doctor added, upon seeing the expression of jealousy that Billy managed to convey through his single eye. "In other news, what's that?!" he asked her, referring to the device in her hands. Her facial expression shifted from one of confusion to one of realisation, upon looking down at it and back up.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. This is a portal gun. It's the thing she was having me test. It sort of makes linked holes you can walk through." The Doctor looked confused. She fired one portal off at the wall on the left, and one on the wall on the right, and ran through them. He looked momentarily astonished for just a split second, but tried to play it off quickly.

"That's some pretty cool technology for humans, but, y'know, child's play for Time Lords," he murmured, running his hands through his hair and trying to come across as thoroughly unimpressed. Donna chuckled when she realised what he was trying to do. "Anyway. What matters is you're safe, you got out of there alive. You made it!" The Doctor cheered.

"And look where that's gotten you both," GLaDOS's voice rang out menacingly from all around them. "The happy family, back together at last. Mr and Mrs Doctor!"

"We're not married!" they shouted out in unison.

"Either way, what a surprise it is to see you here, my little brainless testing worm. That was quite clever, I'll give you that. You are right, though. I was getting sloppy with the tests. I guess I didn't feel that I needed to work that hard to give you a challenge. But it doesn't matter. Because I've got you both exactly where I want you. I've been getting _strange_ readings off you both - not just you, Doctor. Traces of artron energy off the both of you, but not just that – it's like your timelines are intertwined. What's that about? I don't know. But I just can't wait to find out."

Her voice was dripping with glee again.

As GLaDOS was wrapping up her dramatic speech, The Doctor and Donna were scooped up into little carts that were bought in by mechanised arms that came in through the wall, and the floor fell away revealing a rail on which the carts started to slowly carry them away. One of the walls started folding itself up and packed itself away, clearing room for the carts to exit.

"What do you mean our 'timelines are intertwined'? What does that even mean?" The Doctor demanded to know. The carts started gaining speed.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted.

"Just hang on," he shouted back. "I think we're going to the same place so just hold tight and I'll be there for you."

"Do you like my new block? It's just fantastic, isn't it? Fully dynamic rooms. I can change them and move them around all I like. You must have felt like you were walking around for hours. Well… you were. But that's beside the point. I was just having a little bit of fun shuffling them around as you walked in and out. I could have done it all day. But now there's more important stuff to do. Let's get to work."

"Leave her alone GLaDOS. I swore to look after her. Do what you want with me but just leave her alone," The Doctor trailed off as the carts took them further away. There was no reply.

Jade and Billy were left to just look on helplessly.

"I knew something like this was going to happen. I just didn't want to admit it to myself," Jade panicked. "What are we going to do?" Just as Billy was trying to think up a response in vain, someone called out.

"Looks like you lot are in a bind!" a new voice shouted as The Doctor and Donna were almost out of sight.

Everyone contorted and strained to see a woman stood on the catwalk that stretched across the top of the room.

Chell had made it. And she had a plan.


End file.
